kitten w/ tapeworms

Question
i have a kitten who is just past 3 mos old. she came out with worms a couple weeks ago i called the vet i described the worms and they told me it was roudnworms so i bought the roundworm medicine and it didnt work. i even tried garlic mixed w/ her food as a suggestion from a friend who has cats of her own. nothing. so i called again and i talked to someone else and this lady told me the worms were tapeworms. the worms are white, short, not really fat but when they dry up they look like little seeds or rice. if these are tapeworms id like to get rid of them asap.
can i give her tapeworm medicine so soon after ive given her the roundworm med. (3 days ago 2nd dose)....

Answer
Hi Tobi.  Yup, these are tapeworm segments, not roundworms.  The medications are safe to give at the same time, so you CAN treat her for tapeworms now.  However, the kitten should weigh at least two pounds to be treated with praziquantel (the medication used to kill tapeworms).  If she's not yet two pounds, it's generally recommended to wait to treat.  While tapeworms certainly are disgusting, they don't tend to cause serious side effects like roundworms and hookworms do, and waiting a while to treat isn't as risky as treating a kitten that's too small.

As an aside, just in case, I wouldn't use any piperazine citrate or dipiperazine sulfate wormers in a kitten.  They're unsafe for babies, and some deaths have even been reported.  Pyrantel pamoate is the safest and most effective over-the-counter medication for treating roundworms.  

Also, onions are highly toxic to cats, and so is garlic to a lesser extent.  Studies indicate that the amount of garlic needed to effectively treat problems like fleas and worms would likely be toxic to the cat.  So although garlic is used to treat many problems in humans, it's best to avoid its use in cats.